If cops and robbers or G. I. Joe were your favorite games as a youngster, then there’s a sport for you: airsoft guns.

Airsoft guns became immensely popular when they arrived in North America from Japan in the mid-1990s. It was illegal then in Japan to own a firearm, and this ban may have fueled Japanese interest in them. The ever-inventive Japanese manufacturers paid attention to this customer curiosity and developed the first airsoft guns, powered by springs.

Japanese manufacturers developed the first airsoft guns in the 1970s, when a national ban on gun ownership led to immense curiousity about weapons among the Japanese. The first airsoft guns were powered by springs to launch various sizes of plastic or rubber bullets. Not long afterward the manufacturers invented airsoft guns powered by some form of compressed gas, such as carbon dioxide or propane.

Fans of the airsoft guns hobby say that safety is their first priority. The guns fire spherical pellets - typically 6-millimeter plastic BBs. Even so, the guns aren’t suitable for players under age 16, and most commercial entertainments using airsoft guns require players to be age 18 and older.

Longtime hobbyists recommend that beginners try spring-powered airsoft guns first, until they get a feel for the gear. Spring-powered guns tend to be made more cheaply, often in China, and therefore are more likely to break in the most vigorous battle simulations. Compressed-gas airsoft guns are sturdier, but the top gun for serious airsoft enthusiasts is an airsoft electric gun, or AEG.

From their early beginnings in Japan, airsoft guns today often are minutely detailed firearm replicas. In fact, airsoft guns have become so realistic that they must be fitted with a distinguishing bright orange tip in order to imported or sold legally in U. S. Markets.

While most airsoft gun bullets are rubber or plastic, some are metal. The non-metal pellets usually are too light to injure a player, but metal projectiles have been known to break a player’s skin if fired at close enough range. Usually, however, airsoft guns’ projectiles travel too slowly to do any damage to a player. Muzzle velocities for spring-power or compressed-gas airsoft guns vary from 30 to 260 meters per second (100 to 850 feet per second). Electric-powered airsoft guns fire pellets at 150 and 500 feet per second (60 to 150 meters per second), sometimes firing as many as 3, 000 rounds a minute. True bullet speed ranges from 370 to 1, 500 meters per second (or not as fast as Superman!).

Projectiles shot from spring-power or compressed-gas airsoft guns travel at velocities from 100 to 850 feet per second (30 to 260 meters per second). Electric-powered airsoft guns fire pellets at 150 and 500 feet per second (60 to 150 meters per second). Genuine bullets shoot out at speeds from 370 to 1, 500 meters per second.

Airsoft guns powered by electricity contain a rechargeable battery that runs an electric motor. This motor drives a piston-spring device that launches the pellets. Battery power led to the creation of automatic or semi-automatic airsoft guns that are now the most popular. These guns can achieve projectile velocities between 150 and 500 feet per second or 60 to 150 meters per second, and can fire from 100 to 3, 000 rounds per minute. Not bad for a plastic replica gun.

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Tags: Self Defence